European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background:  This study was conducted to investigate the presence of a-SMA (alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin) positive myofibroblasts in the stroma of invasive breast carcinoma with the help of immunohistochemistry (IHC) markers and investigate the correlation between a-SMA and known clinicopathological prognostic factors of breast tumors along with estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 neu (HER2/neu). Methods: This was a hospital-based study carried out from September 2019 to September 2021 in the Department of Pathology, Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati (M.K.C.G) Medical College, Berhampur, among 75 patients undergoing surgery for palpable breast lesions. The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee (IEC), and written informed consent was obtained from the participants. Results: ER and PR status were negatively correlated with tumor grade and demonstrated statistical significance. HER2/neu receptor and a-SMA expressions were correlated with tumor grade and demonstrated statistical significance. In our study, 96% (n=72) had invasive breast carcinoma, followed by 2 cases of lobular carcinoma and 1 case of mucinous breast carcinoma. In the present study, 47% (n=35) of cases were of grade 3, followed by grade 2 (40%, n=30), and grade 1 (13%, n=10). In grade 3 cases, the majority were HER2-positive with strong SMA expression. Strong SMA activity was observed with an increase in HP grade (Histopathological grading is done as per MBR, i.e., Modified Bloom Richardson grading). Conclusion: a-SMA immunostaining does not correlate with age, size of the tumor, disease stage, or lymph node metastasis. a-SMA positivity shows no significant correlation with ER and PR receptor status. There is a significant correlation between a-SMA immunostaining and tumor grade and with HER2 receptor positivity.